by Mia Lopez | staff writer

AP exams will start May 1. Students wanting college credit from these courses will need at least three to pass the exam, with the lowest score being a one and the highest being a five.

“AP exams are different from your EOC exams in that it is optional for you to take your AP exams,” CCMR specialist and counselor Tenley Barrow said. “You register for them, you pay for them and if you receive a three or higher on the AP exams then you’ll receive college credit for most Texas public schools.” 

To retake an AP exam, a student would have to register for just that exam, and not the class the following year.

“If you aren’t a senior, so if you’re freshman through junior, and you don’t like the score you received on the exam, you could technically register for an exam only for next year,” Barrow said. “We don’t suggest you do that because you would have gone a year without the class and the class of course helps you prepare for the exam. So you’ll most likely forget the things you learned.”

All AP exams cost 40 dollars, regardless of difficulty or rigor.

“The price is 40 dollars for everyone,” Barrow said. “If you receive free and reduced lunch, then it’s twenty dollars.” 

Students taking AP exams will have the ability to save both time and money on courses that would cost much more.

“If you think about how much money you spend or would spend for each college class, you’re saving hundreds, potentially thousands of dollars for college,” Barrow said. “If you’re only having to pay forty dollars to take an exam, I definitely think it’s worth it.”

Study guides will be available to students within the next month, as exams will start May 1.

“The AP exams are in the first two weeks in May,” Barrow said. “They start May 1, then it goes Monday through Friday, and the second week is the same thing.”